Bozeman, Montana, and Holualoa, Hawaii, United States
Deborah Butterfield makes horse sculptures whose assembled forms can be cast in bronze from wood models. Museum and public collections document her work in both indoor and outdoor settings.
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Bozeman, Montana, and Holualoa, Hawaii, United States
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individual
Project participation
Not documented; confirm with the artist, studio or estate.
Research notes for project planning
What the project record tells us
2001 work in SFO’s public-art collection.
Bronze carries the appearance of driftwood
SFO Museum identifies Pohina as a 2001 cast-bronze work whose patina preserves the appearance of the driftwood used to develop its form. Its location in the airport’s public-art collection makes it a useful precedent for sculpture encountered outside a conventional gallery visit. The material distinction matters for interpretation and care: what appears to be assembled wood is bronze. A planning discussion can connect viewing distance and pedestrian approach with the information visitors need to understand the work’s construction without overwhelming the encounter.
How should placement and interpretation help viewers discover the difference between the apparent wood and actual bronze?
Big Art Partners planning prompt
1989 bronze in a museum sculpture garden.
A horse without the usual monument hierarchy
Toledo’s record describes Second Daughter, a 1989 bronze horse in its sculpture garden, as standing calmly without a rider. The assembled branchlike form gives the familiar equestrian subject a different presence from a mounted civic monument. For a commissioning discussion, that precedent directs attention to posture, surrounding open space and the viewer’s relationship to the animal. The record also identifies substantial weight, reminding a planning team to develop the desired spatial encounter alongside the practical support and access conditions of a garden installation.
How will the sculpture’s calm posture, surrounding space and installation support work together in the garden?
Big Art Partners planning prompt
Collection object; listed as not on view at check.
Patina and setting belong in the same conversation
The Smithsonian’s Monekana record identifies a 2001 bronze derived from wood gathered in Hawaii and includes the artist discussing its surface treatment. The record’s display context and conservation discussion make clear that a bronze’s woodlike appearance is a deliberate finish, not a generic material effect. For planning, this is a reason to examine the particular object’s surface and intended environment together. The museum lists this work as not on view at the research check, which should remain separate from its permanent collection status.
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